MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Trailing 7-4 after the first quarter, the No. 19 nationally ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team used a 7-0 run between the second and third quarters to earn a 21-14 win over No. 20 Amherst on Wednesday night from Citrin Field. With the win, Wesleyan (7-2, 3-2 NESCAC) set a new program record for most goals ever scored against Amherst (4-5, 2-3 NESCAC), breaking the previous high mark of 17 set back in 2017.
 
After watching Amherst score on each of their first four shots on-goal in the first quarter, Wesleyan weathered a storm that saw the Mammoths put up seven goals in the opening 13 minutes of play in this high-octane Little 3 showdown. A 3-0 Wesleyan scoring run over a span of 1:17 proved enough to keep the Cardinals within striking distance as even with the seven Mammoth goals, the Cardinals only trailed by three after the first quarter.
  Over the next two quarters, Wesleyan completely dominated play, outscoring Amherst 8-2 in the second and 4-0 in the third as the Cardinals turned a 7-4 deficit into a 16-9 lead heading into the fourth. Amherst's 7-4 lead was quickly erased just 2:54 into the second as goals from four different Cardinals gave Wesleyan an 8-7 lead.
 
The two sides traded goals in the middle stages of the second quarter before three unanswered goals to end the first half helped kickstart a 7-0 run for Wesleyan that was the turning point in the game. Justin Hazard '23 took advantage of a man-up opportunity, then DJ Dixon '24 followed with an unassisted marker just 48 seconds later before Jake Sexton '22 scored off a Hazard feed with 1:06 remaining to make it 12-9 Wesleyan at the half.
  Depsite being outshot 9-8 in the third quarter, Wesleyan managed to outscore the Mammoths 4-0 in the frame to stretch their lead to a seven-goal advantage. Sexton and Spencer Robbins '22 keyed the run as they combined for three points apiece in the third quarter alone. Sexton started with his third goal of the game before he found Hazard for a strike just two minutes later. Robbins then went to work with goals coming off feeds from Sexton and Dixon before the end of the third.
 
Amherst scored for the first time in the second half 1:32 into the fourth quarter and then found another goal less than a minute later to make it just a five-goal game with 12:36 remaining. That little spurt, however, was quickly answered back with three Wesleyan goals in a span of 1:10 as Hazard scored another while Matt Gill '23 scored twice on the man-up to put the game well out of reach for the Mammoths.
 
Capping the win in style was a great goal in transition as Colin Hanley '22 carried up near midfield before giving to Nolan Collins '23 who lofted a pass over to Charlie Hoban '25 heading into the Amherst defensive end. Hoban then showed great power as he shielded off multiple Amherst defenders, carrying deep into the zone before finding the back of the net for his first career goal.
  Sexton (three goals, four assists) and Hazard (four goals, three assists) tied for the team-lead as they each went for seven points. Dixon netted his first career hat trick, finishing with three goals and one assists. CK Giancola '24 and Robbins each tallied two goals and two assists while Gill (two goals, one assist) and Will Shull '25 (one goal, two assists) each finished with three points.
 
Kyle Camphausen '22 was incredible in the midfield, grabbing five ground balls and two caused turnovers. Charlie Silver '25 finished with a team-high three caused turnovers. Hanley made 10 saves in net for his third straight 10+ save game (fifth such game of the season).
 
Kevin Talbot '24 and Tyler Campbell '25 split the faceoff work with Talbot going 11-for-18 with six ground balls while Campbell finished 10-for-20 with six ground balls as well as his second career assist.
 
Brock Gonzalez scored a game-high five goals for the Mammoths while Tanyr Krummenacher dished out a game-high five assists. PJ Clementi (two goals, three assists) also recorded a five-point game for Amherst who struggled in the cage, recording just nine saves while allowing 21 goals.
 
Next up for Wesleyan is Senior Day Saturday at home as the Cardinals welcome No. 16 Middlebury for a 1 PM start. This will be the first meeting between the two sides since 2019 as Wesleyan is 24-28-1 all-time against the Panthers.